Coronary heart disease: seven dietary factors
The dietary factors believed to be linked with the incidence of coronary heart disease are reviewed in the light of evidence with regard to their functional role, either in protection or in promotion. Detailed analysis of the evidence shows that the relations are more complex than the current lipid hypothesis suggests. It is proposed that, in particular, the polyunsaturated/saturated ratio as a measure of the propensity of the diet to influence the incidence of coronary heart disease should be replaced by indices of atherogenicity and thrombogenicity. [1]
Coronary heart disease in seven countries.
In an international cooperative study on the epidemiology of coronary heart disease teams examined 12, 770 men 40 to 59 years old in Finland, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the United States and Jugoslavia, who were re-examined 5 years later.In the United States of a total of 125 deaths during the 5 years 62 were due to coronary heart disease, in Finland 38 of 111, in the Netherlands 16 of 50, and in all other groups only about 1 in 8. Within countries there were no significant differences in incidence of the disorder between regions except in rural Finland where the east had significantly more than the west.
Cigarette smoking, body fatness and relative bodyweight did not seem to explain population differences in incidence of the disorder, but there was a tendency for incidence to be related to the prevalence of hypertension, serum cholesterol values and saturated fatty acids in the diet. There were no statistically significant relations between habitual physical activity and the incidence of coronary heart disease. There was no indication that incidence was inversely related to the incidence of any other disease. [2]
Approaches to Sudden Death from Coronary Heart Disease
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) continues unabated. Coronary care units, while effective in lowering hospital mortality, cannot significantly reduce SCD which occurs primarily outside the hospital and accounts for the majority of deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD). In view of the frequent precipitous nature of SCD, only a program which identifies and protects the victim prior to the event can hope to be successful in preventing the majority of SCD. Since it is likely that SCD is due to an arrhythmia, drug prophylaxis might prove effective. In view of the toxicity of currently available agents, it is mandatory to preselect a population at highest risk before embarking on a drug trial. Ventricular premature beats (VPB) may identify subjects susceptible to SCD. Epidemiologic and physiologic information on VPB is reviewed, and proposals are made for studies designed to establish the usefulness of VPB as a risk factor for SCD. [3]
Association between Obesity and Coronary Heart Disease Risk among Saudi Subjects at Madinah Region
Purpose: To characterize the association between major cardiovascular diseases risk among Saudis and their body mass index (BMI).
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted (April to June 2015) to investigate the expected 10 years risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) among Saudi subjects (age range 20-70 years) using Framingham Risk Score (FRS) with respect to their BMI (analyzed October 2015).
Results: In the present study there was a significant association between the 10 years risk of developing CVD and BMI. The results revealed an increase in BMI contributing to significant increase in the 10 years risk of CVD among males. The overall distribution of FRS among males regardless the BMI category as a percentage of the total male subjects revealed that males were at low, medium and high CVD risk of 71.4%, 14.27% and 14.3%, respectively. However, female subjects showed 91.5%, 4.8% and 3.6% at low, medium and high FRS, respectively. In addition, significant increases in the Odd ratio amounting to 4.58 and 5.24 among intermediate and high risk males in comparison with female ones, respectively.
Conclusions: BMI strongly associated with the expected 10 years FRS for CVD. Moreover, there was gender specific susceptablity for CVD risk among Saudi males compared to female ones. Socioeconomic, behavioral, awareness about healthy choices and genetic characteristics of obesity should be taken in consideration since extrapolating other population’s studies to Saudi one might be misleading. [4]
Coronary Heart Disease and Biomarkers and Its Clinical Application
Cardiovascular disease is a major health concern globally. Genetic testing is an attractive tool for cardiovascular disease prediction because it is a low-cost, high-fidelity technology with multiplex capability. Developments in genomic discovery have yielded valuable new candidates in the quest for better biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets. This brief review focuses on recent trends in biomarkers of cardiovascular disease. DNA microarrays, single nucleotide polymorphism chips, linkage analysis, genome-wide association studies, and other strategies have increased our knowledge of metabolic diseases of the heart. This review also examines the potential applications and challenges of using genetic information for predicting cardiovascular disease. [5]
Reference
[1] Ulbricht, T.L.V. and Southgate, D.A.T., 1991. Coronary heart disease: seven dietary factors. The lancet, 338(8773), pp.985-992.
[2] Keys, A., 1970. Coronary heart disease in seven countries. Circulation, 41(1), pp.186-195.
[3] Lown, B. and Wolf, M., 1971. Approaches to sudden death from coronary heart disease. Circulation, 44(1), pp.130-142.
[4] Saad, S. Y. and Abdel-Latif, M. M. M. (2016) “Association between Obesity and Coronary Heart Disease Risk among Saudi Subjects at Madinah Region”, Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International, 12(3), pp. 1-8. doi: 10.9734/BJPR/2016/26382.
[5] Wang, G., Zhang, J. and Zhang, A. (2015) “Coronary Heart Disease and Biomarkers and Its Clinical Application”, Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research, 10(6), pp. 1-8. doi: 10.9734/BJMMR/2015/19089.
